February 2023 Project Status Update

by Charlie Plaine, Director of First Edition

3rd February 2023

Ladies, gentlemen, and non-binary friends - greetings! It's been 16 months since I last wrote a Project Status Update for First Edition. I had stopped doing these because they are a lot of work and there didn't seem to be much demand for them. However, thanks to Pazuzu on the forums for asking about them and requesting another. Thus, I'm happy to put fingers-to-keyboard and let you know about what's going on in the world of 1E.

Completed Projects

We've put out a lot of content since my last update. Before we get into the details, here is a quick rundown of what the different status mean. These appear in approximately chronological order.

STATUS: PRE-DESIGN
This status covers all of the project work from picking the team and setting up forum access through the first "ready" card designs. It typically involves a lot of research, pitching a lot of ideas for overall themes, and significant back-and-forth discussions.

STATUS: EXPLORATORY DESIGN
Unlike a normal project, and exploratory design project isn't about producing a card file. Instead, this type of project is about tacking a problem from all angles. By spending a lot of time (without deadlines) looking at all sides of an issue, the team can deliver a report about why a certain direction is the right way to go.

STATUS: DESIGN
The Design status covers all the work of actually designing cards. It typically involves a lot of meetings and forum discussions, and culminates with a file that is ready for testing and feedback. Also included in this phase is all of the internal testing done by designers to catch things that might have been missed (so testers don't have to.)

STATUS: DEVELOPMENT
Typically the longest single phase of the entire cycle, development mostly consists of testing and refinement. Over the course of 3-12 months (depending on size and scale), testers will build decks, play them, and report their feedback. The designers will then read and process all that feedback, update the file, and the process repeats. It's the most vital piece of the process, and we really can't thank our testers enough.

STATUS: PRODUCTION
Once we are 95% of the way through testing, an expansion moves to production. This involves getting the Art, Creative, Rules, Proofreading, and Writing teams involved with the file (though not all at once). It's the production process that moves the file from card ideas to fully formed and finished cards. There is a ton of work by our volunteers here!

STATUS: RELEASED
The finished product is in your hands!

STATUS: ON-HOLD
Nothing is ever truly cancelled or deleted in our world, but a project moved to this status is essentially not moving forward. It might end up being restarted, folded into a different product, or just never touched again.

Here is a rundown of projects that we've finished since September 2021:

The Trial Never Ended f.k.a. Project Quarantine
STATUS: RELEASED
(An expansion - with associated errata - bringing updated Q Continuum/Q-Flash mechanics and new toys as well.)

I am happy with and proud of the work done on this expansion which came out in November 2021. It's seen some play since release, but the nature of the Q-Flash mechanics are still complicated. We are hopeful to see this get a second wind when Project Mandalorian (see below) releases.

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Second Star to the Right f.k.a. Project Rogue-A
STATUS: RELEASED
(Second Star to the Right was the first of three Movie expansions, focusing on the Federation and the Klingons.)

Our first movie expansion released in December 2021, and I'm very happy with it. We learned a lot during this expansion's development about how to better dial in power level. The decks have been played a good amount, but none have dominated in the way and decks did before. This is one of my favorite eras, so I'm happy to see it well-received even at the lower overall power.

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The Motion Pictures Remastered f.k.a. Project Hollywood
STATUS: RELEASED
(A high-resolution remaster of Decipher's The Motion Pictures, making those cards printable in glorious high definition.)

Though it took a lot longer than planned, this remastered expansion came out in June of 2022. All 131 cards got high-resolution images with clarifying errata throughout. It even brought 2 cards off the OTF Ban List. Combined with the preceding and succeeding expansions, playing decks is as easy and pretty as ever! And you don't have to spend half your life savings to get the cards anymore...

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Paradise Lost f.k.a. Project Rogue-B
STATUS: RELEASED
(Paradise Lost was the second of three Movie expansions, focusing on the followers of Khan and Sybok.)

Coming out in August 2022, Paradise Lost brought new life and new definition to Sybok and Khan decks. Though one card for Sybok (He Took Away My Pain!) has ended up being used a little too efficiently in unintended ways, overall we are all happy with how this expansion has been received and played.

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Nemesis f.k.a. Project Solo
STATUS: RELEASING Friday, February 10th
(Nemesis is the third and final Movie expansion, pulling from Generations through Nemesis, with a large focus on the latter movie.)

And that brings us to today, where we are halfway through spoiling Nemesis for you. I am really impressed by the work of the design team on this expansion - Dan Hamman [SirDan], Cristoffer Wiker [Smiley], Brian Sykes [Armus], and Daniel Matteson [OKCoyote]. I can't wait for you to see all the cool new ways to play Remans and neat one-off cards that can recreate movie moments. Would you like to see a spoiler?

Click here to see a spoiler from Nemesis!

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Current Projects

Here is a list of projects that are in active design and development. Any project that hasn't been covered in a previous status update is marked as NEW!

Project Parachute - All About Those Ships
STATUS: DEVELOPMENT
(Project Parachute is an independent boutique-style expansion to be deployed "as needed." This one is all about ships.)

The idea behind the Projects Parachute is that we can finish them and then hold them until they're needed. They can be used to fill gaps in our schedule, soften the blow of a product delay, or just released as normal. They aren't intended to be linked to any surrounding themes, which we've been calling "schedule agnostic." Our goal is to always have one of these ready to go, so we can roll it out to you when we need it. Right now, all of these are going to be under the same codename of Project Parachute, though that might change.

The first of these is currently being tested and nearing the end of its development cycle. As mentioned above, this one is all about ships. New ships, ship-related dilemmas, missions, and other support cards for nearly every affiliation in the game. It's too early to spoil anything (not to mention that we have no scheduled date for this), but if you're a ship fan, I think you'll find something to like in this project... eventually.

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Project En Garde - TNG Federation vs TNG Cardassian
STATUS: DEVELOPMENT
(Project En Garde aims to provide a pair of balanced decks designed to give great games against each other.)

Poor Project En Garde has been toggling back-and-forth between active development and the back-burner for years. Well, after another period of hibernation, this project is back up and running. It's actually pretty far along and will be back in front of testers as soon as Project Parachute is put to bed. In any case, the theme for this project is TNG's "Chain of Command," pitting Jellico and the Enterprise against Madred and the Cardassians. Our goal for the constructed decks is to pair them well against each other. If you have a friend you like to play with, you can keep a pair of these decks around and always get a good game out of them.

Along with the 2 matched decks, there will also be a typical expansion release containing all of the new cards. We ended up building out to be a lot more viable than they currently are, although they are still more limited on source material compared to the other affiliations. It's going to be exciting to see these roll out. Stay tuned for more information.

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NEW! Project Calendar - Promo-a-Week Part II
STATUS: DEVELOPMENT
(Promo-a-Week was a slow-release set of promos that dropped over the course of 6 months.)

In 2020, in the midst of early COVID-19 lockdown, we release the Promo-a-Week project. Over the course of the rest of that year, we released a total of 18 alternate image promos for everyone's enjoyment. And enjoy them, you did! Not only did you look forward to the releases, but the articles associated with each card gave you a reason to come back to the site. It was so successful that we immediately made plans to repeat the program again. However, one of the criticisms was that it was all AI cards and nothing new, so we thought we'd introduce some new cards to the program for round 2.

However, that's proven to be more difficult than anticipated. We've got a dozen cards in various stages of readiness, but they aren't tied to anything because we're unsure of if we want to do another Promo-a-Week cycle. So, we turn to you for feedback. Did you enjoy the original 2020 Promo-a-Week program? Would you like to see it return? And if so, do you want it to include new cards as well as AIs? Sound off and let us know, and help us figure out the future of these "stranded" cards!

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Project Mandalorian - A Sequel to Alternate Universe/Q Continuum
STATUS: DESIGN
(Project Mandalorian will be non-block, standard size expansion, that is a spiritual successor to both Alternate Universe and Q Continuum.)

I am elated for this expansion to head to playtesters, because we've been working on it for a year or more and I think it's some of the best work we've ever done. Aside from being a "spiritual successor" to AU and QC, our work has pushed this also into some "What If...?" space. Not only are we exploring stories from alternate realities, but we're exploring some "what ifs" from the game's own history. For example - what if you could still attempt space missions from your OUTPOST? (Believe it or not, that used to be a rule!) This is on track to be one of the largest expansions ever done by the CC, as we're drawing material not only from TNG, but every other series as well.

The team of myself, Dan Hamman, James Monsebroten [Orbin], Brian Sykes [Armus], and Mathew McCalpin [Professor Scott], have been working hard doing research, designing cards, and playtesting. We're nearly ready to move this project in front of testers, and I am buzzing with excitement to see their initial feedback.

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Project Viking - Giving Vidiians Some Love
STATUS: DEVELOPMENT
(Project Viking is a boutique style expansion "booster shot" for the Vidiian affiliation.)

This small set of cards does a lot of work towards giving the an identity all of their own. All current styles and types of Vidiian decks will still exist in a post-Viking world, but this will hopefully give the affiliation a flavor of their own. Additionally, it's our hope that they will fill a much needed "control" deck type role in the game. Initial design work was done by myself, Brian Sykes, and James Heaney [BCSWowbagger]. Since then, we have handed over the file to a 2nd team to do development work on the cards. That team happens to be the same team as is working on Project Dilly Bar below - James Monsebroten, Paddy Tye [KazonPADD], and Mathew McCalpin.

Our hope and our goal is to still release Project Viking as a stand alone expansion prior to the 2 Delta Quadrant expansions. However, if the timing doesn't work out, we have the ability to roll this expansion into Project Dilly Bar itself. Hopefully, that won't be the case.

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Project Babylon - Exploring Nor Rules/Designs
STATUS: EXPLORATORY DESIGN
(Project Babylon is an exploratory design project looking at the problems with Nors, and potential solutions to those problems.)

The team - Paddy Tye, Derrick Marsh [HoodieDM], Cristoffer Wiker, and James Heaney - has done a lot of research and a lot of testing throughout Phase II. Their goal is to find ways to reduce or eliminate the agony of a Nor-Nor mirror match. Their report will be presented at a Design Team meeting this upcoming weekend, where we will consider their suggestions and likely decide on a course of action. What would you like to see change about Nor on Nor matchups?

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NEW! Project Blizzard - Delta Quadrant "Heels" (Bad Guys)
STATUS: DESIGN
(Project Blizzard is the 1st of 2 Delta Quadrant themed blocks, focusing on Borg, Kazon, and Hirogen.)

Our next major "block" will be focused on the Delta Quadrant, after over a decade of only getting bits and pieces. We're all excited to dive into these projects so Voyager and fans get to experience an entire block focused on them. The first expansion, Project Blizzard, is being helmed by yours truly with a team of Paddy Tye, Lee Palo [LeeKarlPalo], and Matthew Hayes [karonofborg13]. We've done a lot of early work - mostly research - on the existing themes and mechanics for Borg, Kazon, and Hirogen. We've also done a lot of the legwork involved in carving out new mechanical (and flavorful) space, as well as giving Kazon and Hirogen more of an affiliation identity. Next up: designing actual cards, then internal testing.

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NEW! Project Dilly Bar - Delta Quadrant "Faces" (Good Guys)
STATUS: PRE-DESIGN
(Project Dilly Bar is the 2nd of 2 Delta Quadrant themed blocks, focusing on Federation, Vidiian, Klingon, Maquis, and Non-Aligned.)

Our 2nd expansion will be focusing on Vidiian, Federation, and all of the "smaller powers" of the quadrant. This team is being led by James Monesbroten, with Paddy Tye and Mathew McCalpin - the same team as is working on Project Viking above. This team is just getting started with their pre-design work, and we hope to have more information to share about this in a future update.

By the way, some people have asked me how expansions get their code names. It's entirely based on the random thoughts by brain has. For example, there is a fast food franchise in the US called Dairy Queen, commonly abbreviated as DQ. That's the same code we use to refer to the Delta Quadrant, so my brain lept to that as soon as I sat down to start the projects. A blizzard and a dilly bar are ice cream treats served at most Dairy Queen's, hence the code names for this block. We've also heard a lot of you tell us that the codenames are hard to keep track of, so we'll start providing a small reminder about each project when referring to it.

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NEW! Project Pink Floyd - Kid-Friendly Decks to Learn the Basics
STATUS: EXPLORATORY DESIGN
(Project Pink Floyd is an experimental design project aimed at creating absolute bare-bones decks for demos.)

This project is one that's working through a lot of different permutations for how this might end up. Our goal though is to make a pair of dead simple, bare-bones, easy decks that are kid-friendly and can be used to demo the game. It's too early to even know which direction this is going to go, so for now, I don't have much else to share.

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NEW! Project Bookend - TOP SECRET
STATUS: DESIGN
(This is a TOP SECRET project tied to the game's 30th anniversary in November 2024.)

All I should tell you at this point is that this project exists - and quite honestly, I'm still not sure if I should have even done that. But know that we've been working on this for over a year, it's the biggest project by far we've ever done, and you'll find out more as the 30th anniversary approaches in 2024.

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And that's it - several hours of my sneaking in sentences at work that you've read in a fraction of the time! Time is weird, isn't it? I hope this report gives you a sense of where we are in terms of expansion development for First Edition. There are a lot of cool things coming and even more in the works behind those. We aren't going to win any awards for keeping to a schedule, but I'm confident the time and energy we put in will ultimately be worth it - with your happiness. What projects were you hoping to hear about that you didn't? Let me know so I can make sure to update you next time. And don't forget that Nemesis will be releasing next Friday, February 10th!

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